The Allanté represents the fruit of a close collaboration between Cadillac and Pininfarina. The mechanical base was totally studied by Cadillac: the Allanté has a V-8 engine with 4.1 liters of displacement, 170 HP at 4200 rpm. The engine is front-mounted and transverse and drives the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic transmission.
An interesting feature of the Allanté is that the assembly of its mechanical components, since it is to take place after the complete finishing of the bodywork, has been simplified by the creation of two subframes to be mounted complete under the body shell. The front subframe includes the engine, drivetrain, front suspensions and brakes; the aft subframe comprises the rear suspensions and brakes. The division of the car into “hot” and “cold” parts (roughly labeled as mechanical and bodywork parts respectively) is particularly evident in the Allanté both at the design and manufacturing level of the various components and also in the overall philosophy of the components. This separations seems particularly sharp because of the Allanté’s dual soul, a refined European suit on a robust U.S. body.
This is the result not only of the double design venues but also the fact that the Allanté is truly “different” from its competitors in terms of production. The manufacture of this car has led to the organization of a totally new collaboration system called the “Airbridge”. “The longest assembly line in the world” affirmed Cadillac executives: that’s why. A weekly service was instituted from Detroit to Turin of three roundtrip flights, effected in rotation by “Cargo System” 747’s of Lufthansa and Alitalia; from America they carry semi-processed parts of the car’s floorplate, which were sent to San Giorgio, where Pininfarina had built a new, modern 12,000 sq.metre plant especially for the Cadillac contract. Here the floorplate parts were assembled and on this base was mounted the bodywork , totally built by Pininfarina; the body shell thus obtained was painted and inspected, then the interior was assembled, up to the installation of the dashboard, windshield, windows top and all the other parts except the mechanical ones. The car thus finished were inserted into special pre-fabricated transport moduleswhose dimensions were designed to make maximum use of the 747’s internal space, and at the same time minimizing the risk of damage during transport.
The lines of the Allanté are based on the concept of the two-door, two-seat convertible but with the possibility of mounting a hard-top. The Cx value produced is of 0,34, more than acceptable on a normal production car.
Engine: V-8
Displacement 4100 cc
Max power 170 HP at 4300 rpm
Front wheel drive
4-speed automatic transmission
2-seat convertible coupé body
Dry weight 1525 kg
